TUCSON, Ariz.—Who was on first didn’t matter for Colorado Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez on Saturday.
The 24-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic pitched four strong, scoreless innings in a 6-2 win over the visiting Los Angeles Angels, even though he allowed runners to reach base in the first two innings and then again in the fourth.
The effort was an improvement from Tuesday’s three-inning outing when Jimenez had trouble pitching out of the stretch with runners on first base.
Saturday’s effort from Jimenez at Hi Corbett Field was complimented by the Rockies bats coming alive against an Angels lineup of mostly minor leaguers and non-roster invitees.
Matt Holliday sent a 1-1 pitch on a rope over the left field wall in the bottom of the first inning for a 2-run homer off Angels starter Dustin Moseley. It was Holliday’s second home run of the spring.
Moseley (0-1) was tagged with the loss.
Brad Hawpe, Yorvit Torrealba and Jeff Baker all hit solo home runs off Angels relievers.
Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca said the goal is to get Jimenez into a reaction mode on the field rather than trying to analyze everything that happens around him.
“There’s too many things to think about out there,” Apodaca said.
Jimenez had no problems with command on Saturday. He managed to get out of innings with ease while also holding runners at the bases. Jimenez evened his spring training record at 1-1 and saw his ERA drop from 9.00 to 3.86.
“I didn’t worry about it,” Jimenez said about runners reaching base on Saturday. “I just held the runner and threw my pitch.”
Jimenez, the Rockies’ No. 3 starter, was 4-4 in 2007 with a 4.38 ERA in 15 starts and 82 innings. He is looking to play a complete season in the majors for the first time in his career.
